The Fan-Fiction Index

The Fan-Fiction Index's sole purpose here is to help readers and writers get around the Fan-Fiction forum here.

For writers who would like to write a fanfic but not sure yet, you can try out writing a chapter or a paragraph or two in the Round Robin fanfics.

Round Robin fanfics are fanfics which one person start and another person continues where the last person left off and anyone can jump in and write. So welcome yourself to those RR fanfics if you like.

Helpful Tips for Writing

Helpful Tips for Writing

Here is where I'll post helpful tips for writing and getting started with your own story or fan-fiction.

Writing Your Story --Here's an excellent site that gives you an overview of story, character, and plot development and also the setting and checking your story. It's a very helpful site for confused writers and beginners too.

The Crafts of Writing Here's another very thorough site that gives you advice on writing that can be also be applied to Fan-Fics. Site suggested by Giant Eagle

Tips from SPC members

Submitted by Shirley

Don't:
1. Repeat the usual plot
2. Be too predictable

Do
1. Give some twist
2. Make unique characters

1 - I think that you should lay out your fanfic before writing it. I think if you lay out your fanfic first, you will have a faster time writing it.

2 - You shouldn't make a hero's
(or someone's) problems be too simple to solve or to get over with. (Most of the stories I read are like this.) They are so simple. We can always guess who's gonna win the fight and be famous and get the girls. Or sometimes they forget revenge just because of a few tears. I mean, that's like way too common. You get what I mean? <IMG SRC="smilies/disgust.gif" border="0">

3- I really like characters whom we can easily remember for who they are and what they did. That means I like characters to have different personalities and appearance. (especially female heroes.) Like you should make your lead female be very remembering for something that they might do or did.
(I bet everyone here can remember who Xiao Yan Zhi is. Or who Chiu Man was.) (Excuse my poor spellings.) Like being very stubborn or like be leader and shows powerful qualities. Then again like I see in many other fanfics, all the females are beautiful, kind, and nice to everyone around them. I mean, boost their personalities up a little (like when you hear their name you can just remember what they are or what they did.)

4- Same with the males. They are most often always strong, and all girls loved him.

Submitted by Em

DO

- set the scene... for a reader, it is nice to have some description of the atmosphere and the surroundings. Like I said on another post, think of it as a camera sweep that you see when you are watching films/TV. Also helps to indicate the time period and other details: I remember reading one and a half chapters of what I thought was a modern fanfic and then realising it was set in ancient times!!

- spell and grammar check your work. There is nothing more off-putting than an obvious spelling mistake in the middle of a sentence or a grammatical error which confuses the plot completely.

- introduce enough characters, but not too many!!

- check your work before publishing! Speed typing with your fingers working faster than your brain can cause inadvertant typos and errors. (Em is extremely guilty of this!!!)

DON'T

- use "net-isms" or street language (unless it is vital to the plot in some way). Fun as it may seem, it is incredibly difficult to read and you won't get many readers.

- repeat the same words too many times. If you are stuck for vocabulary, then invest in a thesaurus.

- make your paragraphs too long. It sends people to sleep!

Submitted by Tu Vi

DO:
As Em had said, make sure that you are clear about the time period, whether it is ancient, Shanghai, or modern.
If you are writing in ancient time then try not to use modern words such as Ok or any slang language, instead try to go for a more formal tone.
But the most important thing about fanfic to me is characterization. Make your characters human and flawed, don't try to make them into some perfect beings, which would make the story seems bland and dry. And make your characters consistent. They should act in a way that make sense to the personalities that you have created for them.
Also make sure to research on whatever it is that you are writing about, especially if you are writing in modern time. If your character is a doctor, then make sure that you know precisely what kind of doctor and what do they do in professional terms. If not, then try to avoid the time when your characters are working.

DON'T
Write in script form too much.
Make sure you check your grammar and spelling and tne proper use of vocabularies. Don't just take a dictionary and pick out a word, which may have the same meaning but does not apply to the situation. Hope that make sense.

Submitted by Spcnet

My 2 cents: Aside from the givens of a compelling and original storyline and interesting characters, if writing a wuxia fan fic, add more fighting scenes and more detail on different sects/clans and less lovey-dovey details (this is just personal preference).

Also, don't rush a story by making things happen too fast, I know it's hard not to go to the good parts but development and suspense is also important. Finally, make flaws for characters. Some heroes can be too perfect that they are not relatable.

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Advices for Writers

Consistency with character---Floo...

"Hmm, I would suggest to be creative with your plotlines. Try to avoid using ideas and plots that are cliche, or used too often. Also to do some research into the time period you plan on using as the era where your story takes place. It may seem like work, but it's better in the long run since you'll know what's in style during that period, how people behave and act, etc." --Jennifer (Former Co-Admin, Status: Missing from SPC)

"As for me, an interesting plot, intriguing characters, good grammar, witty dialog are important. I also like a lot of details that appeal to all our senses. It may be fiction we're writing, but it's good to always draw on reality to get your point across." --C Monster

"Welps I think that you should have a good plot and that you should describe everything in a creative way. Like in my story I try to describe the battles as to make it exciting and interesting to the readers. Some people uses the popular actors in their story so a lot of readers would read their story. But I think the plot is the most important thing. It's what makes the story interesting. Because even if you have the popular people in there and not have an exciting plot your story would just be boring."-Switzmoon

After you come up with your own system for generating ideas, the next step is to put them in some recognizable story form (the basic plot idea), build your central conflict (the story premise sheet), then build your character and underlying themes (the thematic premise sheet.

#1 QUEST - the plot involves the Protagonist's search for a person, place or thing, tangible or intangible (but must be quantifiable, so think of this as a noun; i.e., immortality).

#2 ADVENTURE - this plot involves the Protagonist going in search of their fortune, and since fortune is never found at home, the Protagonist goes to search for it somewhere over the rainbow.

#15 FORBIDDEN LOVE - plot involves Protagonist(s) overcoming obstacles created by social mores and taboos to consummate their relationship (and sometimes finding it at too high a price to live with).

#16 SACRIFICE - plot involves the Protagonist taking action(s) that is motivated by a higher purpose (concept) such as love, honor, charity or for the sake of humanity.

#17 DISCOVERY - plot that is the most character-centered of all, involves the Protagonist having to overcome an upheavel(s) in their life, and thereby discovering something important (and buried) within them a better understanding of life (i.e., better appreciation of their life, a clearer purpose in their life, etc.)

#18 WRETCHED EXCESS - plot involves a Protagonist who, either by choice or by accident, pushes the limits of acceptable behavior to the extreme and is forced to deal with the consequences (generally deals with the psychological decline of the character).

#19 ASCENSION - rags-to-riches plot deals with the rise (success) of Protagonist due to a dominating character trait that helps them to succeed.

#20 DECISION - riches-to-rags plot deals with the fall (destruction) of Protagonist due to dominating character trait that eventually destroys their success.

(Note: Sometimes #19 & #20 are combined into rags-to-riches-to-rags (or vice versa) of a Protagonist who does (or doesn't) learn to deal with their dominating character trait.)

For an in-depth look at these plots, read the excellent "20 Master Plots and How To Build Them" by Ronald B. Tobias available through the TSA Writers Store